Baseball player; born in Troy, N.Y. One
of baseball's first superstars, he combined power and speed during his
16-year career as an outfielder/catcher (1878--93), mostly with the
Chicago White Stockings and Boston Red Stockings. The once-popular song,
"Slide, Kelly, Slide!" (1889) was inspired by the fans' chanting
that accompanied his frequent stolen bases. Handsome and flamboyant, he
was known as baseball's "king of the diamond." In 1945 he was
elected to baseball's Hall of Fame.